Improvement in steam-engines



3 is a plan of the heater lcylinder, with one of its a plate removed. Fig. 8 is 'tion of the cylinder through the exhaust-noz'- 'supplying the-latent for-zit.

yNTED STATES HENRY WATERMAN,

PATENT OFFICE.

o'E'NEw Yoan, N. Y.

IIMPROVEMENT IN STEAM-ENGINES.

Specification forming part of Lettere Patent No. 40,656,

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, HENRY WATERMAN, of the city, county, 'and vState of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement-in SteamfEngines; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making partl of this speciiication, in whichk l Figure l is' a longitudinal transverse section of a steamengine cylinder with my invention applied. Fig.,2 is a longitudinal transverse section ot'- the Aheater lining the cylindcr,wi'th its intern al plates removed. Fig. lining the cylinder; Fig. t, a transverse section, and Fig. 5 an end view, of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a plan of the heater rest-ine nr9lrthaiprer-or ,front had@ the..

plates removed 5 and Fig. 7.is a plan of the heater resting upon the lower or back head of the cylinder, with a transverse seczle.' Figs.'9 and 10. are sections' of the 1ongitudinal barsand ribs, forming the frame of the heater lining the cylinder.

The same letters'indicate like parts in all the gures. e

I have, at considerable cost of time andiabor and money, constructed a purely experimental condensing steamengine, with boiler and appendages attached, `and have made long and careful experiments therewith, which has le'd me to the discovery- First. That 'in all condensingstealth-engines,V

according tosize, there is`obtained only from onehalf yto one-quarter the dynamic eitect dueto the water which .disappears l':t`rom the boiler lin y.the form of steam, and that this loss is principallydue' to' cbnden's'a'tion' by external radiation in the'iirst instance, even with cylin.` ders andsteam-pipes well protected'bynou conducting substances.' l g. j 1

Second. In consequence ot the-abstraction of heat from'the metal composing the cylin' der and its parts, a portion ofthe steam entering it is condensed to supply the deficiency,l

and as soon as the. pressure' in it is-from anyv cause rednced,"this condensed steam begins further lloss by' vtore-evaporate, thus causing Third". rThat with-cylinders steam-jacketed cylinder,

dated November 17, lesa.

I inder with all its connected parts is surrounded with steam of the same temperature.v

as that used in the cylinder, and when so surrounded only one-sixthpart of the value` due to the expansion can be made available in consequence of the heat lost from the cylinder by the re-evaporation ot' water adhering to its interior surfaces, the condensed steam being in contact with them, for, as the interior portion of the cylinder is during halfthe time exposed to the vapor of the'condenser, which is of low temperatureand pressure, -it follows that'he'at will be 'absorbed from the hotter metal by the cooler vapor, and that, if water be present, the evaporation thereby produced` will be rapid in accordance with 'such pressure, and

will absorb'a largequantityof 'heat from the innermost portion of the metal of which the lcylinder. is composed.

In `addition to the Waste of heat thus occasioned, there is also another loss caused by the back-pressure which the vapor so generated exerts against the piston. v

Fourth.4 That superheated steam does not contain heat in sufficient quantity to supply.

thatlost by the condensation and reevapo'ration when usedat a temperature sufficiently lo'w to prevent the abrasion of the metal com# posing the cylinder, piston, and valves. Y

In order to give practical eii'eot to my invention, and as a means of obtaining nearly the full'et'ect of the elastic' pressure of the steam, itconsistsin combining with the engine' internal heaters within` the cylinder at each end and around'its sides when it is ydoubleacting, and at one'end when it'is single acting, .which said-heaters, or equivalent, consists of; thir metal ..steamtight vessels7 of -sufficient Astrength to contain steam of greater temperature thanthe steam used inthe engine. By

this means,`jowing to the' thinnessof the metal u and the high temperature of the steamin' eontact With'it, condensation is 'mostly prevented,

and such condensed steam as may accumulate is reevaporated as soon as brought within the iniluence ot'gthe heaters, byv heat supplied from "another sourcethan-the steam entering the and lthefulljdynamic ,power of the* steam is maintainedon .the piston'during its strokefatsmall costof lheat,supplied;threu'gh yheaters-,f""c'onzip'ared fgtof'jthei great "floss'hwhi'ch 'would Atakf'aplace-` by're'ason .of 'cooling fdown and by the vapor ot' plying the heat ,of evaporation.

duction to a cooler body and when the cyl# inder and its parts are steam-jacketed, the only cool body in connection is thes'apor in the cylinder in communication with the oo ndenser, and whatcondensation takes place is caused by this eiiect alone. `v

And my invention also consists in increasing the power of and the economy of the engine by preventing condensa-tion, in'providing the means in these heaters, or equivalen t, ot supplying heat from another source than that in the metal of the cylinder and the steam entering it, to evaporate any water that may be present at the commencement of the stroke of the piston while it is close to the heater upon the cylinder-head, thereby arresting further condensation and preventingfreevaporation during nearly the whole stroke. For, as the vapor ot' such re-eyaporation, it' continued during the whole stroke, causes a resistance onn the backside of the piston, which must be balanced by as much of the entering steam on the other side as its equivalent of pressure beforeany useful effect can he produced, and as re-evaporation takes place rapidly under the great reduction of pressure dur- 'in g the exhaust stroke, or on the condenser `side of the piston and as the greater the amount ot' water the greater will be the re-evapora tion, and consequently the greater-will be the the back-pressure. It istherefore evident that any means that will reduce the amount of condensation, and will re-evapcrate such as may accumulate at the commencement ofthe stroke without using the heat in the metal of the cylinder and its parts, or in the steam enteringy it, must result in increasing the power of the engine. I aver that this result cannot be obtained by any known means, except by my in-l vention, for the reason that condensation and re-evaporation must inevitably take place, that more than three-fourths of it takes place at the commencement of the stroke, and by my invention isjthere evaporated without'reducing the temperature of the metal composing the cylinder and piston, thereby nearly annihilatin g theinjurious eiiects of relevaporation in the cylinder by the application of heat from another source at the commencement ot' the stroke. ,Y f

In the accompanying drawings,A represents thecylinderot a steam-engine, of any suitable construction,` and B the side pipes and'steamchests containing valves ofany snitableconstruction, and which I deem, therefore, unnecessary to describe. All these parts Ivprefer to have stcam-jacketed by steam from the boiler supplying steam to the engine. I also prefer to separate the condensed steam formed in the steam-pipe, togetherwith any primingwater that may pass over with the steam from the boiler into achamber in the pipe, before it ofthe cylinder, and of two and a half inches less internal diameter. The steel-plates'V are riveted to the ring by the rivets d, Figs. Gand 7, which are three-eighths of an inch in diameter,

placed oncand a quarter inches apart, The

edges of thel plates are then calkcd, 'inthe same manner as the edgesot' boiler-plates are in steam-boilers, thus making a steamtight hollow disk of the saine diameter as the bore ot the cylinder. 's

For' the purposeot increasing its strength, screw-braces e, three-eighths of an inch in di ameter, are inserted through from oneplate to the other. They are placed oneand a quarter' inches apart over the plane surfaces reprerented by the small cross-lines in Figs. 6 and 7, and their. ends are riveted in' the' same manner as steam-boiler screw-braces.l This hollow disk l term an internal heater, to be placed on the loweror back' head of the cylinder, and one, with a. small ring interposed between the plates at the center to make an lopening p for the piston-rd w to pass through it, is placed on the upper vor front head ot' the cylinder. Before -the rings are riveted between the plates, two holes, g, are drilled into them from the inner edge to within three, eighths of an inch of the outer edge, each onehalf an inch in diameter, and the pipes h and h', passing through the heads, are screwed in through the plates. into theside of the ring to thedrilled holes, thus making communica` tion to the interi al part ot' the heaters. The pipes h are to communicate with the steamchamber yoi' a small auxiliary boiler, made. sut'- ficiently strong to sustain n pressure equal to 100.Fahrenhcits scale above the steam en tering the cylinder'at the commencement of the stroke, and the pipes h' are to com1nuni auxiliary boiler, provided the surface `of the Water in said boiler is lower than the 'pipes at h. It' the auxiliary boiler cannot be placed suncieutly. below'the .pipes h', then they will be connected to a closed vessel having a force- 'pump attached to it, andthe condensed steam flowinginto it yfrom the heaters by these pipes will be pumped into the-saidboilerm `,Around the internal sides of the cylinder is placed a heater, made of' plate steel of the same thick-v ness as .the end heaters. They have four lon. gitudinal bars, z, and three ribs, y, Fig. 2, interposedbetween the plates to form the steanr' space and frame to rivet them to. tudinal bars are twc and three-quarter inches wide and one and a quarter inches thick, with a feather in the center of the .two widest enters thefvalve-chest, to be there drawn oit' cate, with the water in the 4lower part of the t Thelongiabove their faces,

` size cylinder.

thereby forming .forniing true aud.smooth surfacesglhe-end ribs have offsets in them, which form three sides ofthe steam-portsj throughthe heater. The dotted lines in Figs.

heaters c form the fourth dressed 'l ott' even 'lead putty in them onone sides, projecting tlireesixteenths of lan inch' the use of these feathers will appear hereinafter), on the ends,'and in the middle of the bars on, each edge are projecting arms m, Fig. 10, one and-a quarter inches square,ofsuftieient length to form when curved to a segment of a circle, one-quarter of'it.l These arms form the interposing ribs y, and these, together with Athe bars, form the space between the plates,which are riveted tothem through and through the edges ofthe plates be;

in gcalked to make them steam-tight. It being impracticable to call:A the longitudinal seams of the plates composing the internal surface of this cylindrical -heater in the ordinary way, and haveaperfect surface on the internal side, the feathers c are provided toovercome the difficulty. They are not 'needed for pose on the externall side, but being a con-- venient and'eti'ectual method of'calking are nscd for italso., These feathers are'planed true and parallel, as well as thefaces thev plates are to be riveted to, thev faces and ribsv being curved to the circle required 'for any `The longitudinaledges of the plates are planed, beveling` to an angle of seventy degrees, as seen at c', Fig. 4, and after- Athe plates are riveted tothe ribs and bars, the

feathers vare upset over the4 beveled edges, 'perfect calked seams.- The feathers are then dressed downto the curves,

1 andS represent the otl'sets covered by the plate-steel. The side of the ports.v The plates are countersunkfor all the rivets, and 'the Irivet-heads are alldresf't-:ofgsmgoth, with the curvedsurfaces on bth'si'des.fl `he middle rib andvlongitudinal bars have commmnicating holes drilled'through them. (Shown by dotted lines at l, in Figs. 2 and 4.) Thesteam and condense'dsteampipes h and h pass through the side ofthe cylinder, and commuvnicate with the drilled holes by being screwed into the middle .rib at t, and these pipes lead. to the boiler and closed vessel heretofore described. yScrew-braces e,threeeighths of an inch in dia'meter,'are inserted through ,fromi one plate to the other, and are placed one and ing parts nbetween the 'rivetingfQThey are? screwed in'- with red-lead' paint, and their ends `with thel'curved surfaces;

are to be made'l tight with rede. the usual way.V That part of; side of the portsf'at u will be made tight by two followers, lr, curved'to the. bore of the cylinder,vwho'se inner ends. are beveled torgan angle of one hundred and thirty degrees, lyi ng against two pieces, c, beveled to match the followers'k, the opposite ends 0f a quarter inchesv apart over all the interven--A k u "steamfljacketed (Gylindersrheds, Side pipes* and valve-chests) consequent condensation;v but heaters have not been applied to' the internal surfaces of the cylinder,` andsteam jacketing will not anthe four pieces lforming rightv angles. Setbolts s force the pieces k against those cwhich h aveputty underthem, and the inclined planes carryingthein down on the edge.

ofthe heater c, thus making this part of the joint.. The joints around the ports between the cylinder and the cylindrical heater at o are made by driving in hemp saturated with paint. v From the foregoing it will be'seen that as the steamfrom the'pipe h heats thethin metal due. to. its; pressnre, and. .Williv b GVPOIatf-d with arapidity in accordance with the surface and difference of temperature between the heaters and entering steam, and that the heat required for the evaporation will lbe supplied' by the heaters by contact, conduction, andy radiation.'

Instead vof employing steam to supply heat 'to the heaters, it may be supplied by currents of heated air or heated gases passing through them but I prefer steam for the purpose.

Instead of making the heaters separate and distinct vessels, they may be made in combination with the cylinder and headsby using only the thin metal plates next tothe interior t surfaces, or. by constructing the cylinder and heads cellular, or by longitudinalor concen-v tric spaces, leaving part ofthe metal-forming the interior surfaces of the cylinder thin at the bottom of the cells orA spaces.`. I 'prefer to employ steel for the interior surfaces of the cylinder, ajsiumriudemeut thinner surfaces of metal maybe presented to the bodies Vto be heated'madefof steel than an yroth'er metal, but other metals maybe used with proportionate goodresults, corresponding to thick- -ness and temperature employed. l

Instead vof employing all the. heaters, only; a partA of thern, may be 'employedfor in stance, the heaters connected withv the cylinder-heads may belonly employed, or a Aheater may-be used in one end ofl` the cylinder of single-acting engine, Aor a heater may be employed in oneend and one around thesi'desof .the cylinder. v

I depend mostlyon the heaters applied tothe heads of the cylinder to etfectthe result to be attained by my invention',y but doylot limit 1n yself to anyparticularway they may: be employed when they are applied to the in-- terior surfaces of steam-engine cylinders.

Iam aware thatsteaxn-engines have been to prevent radiation and4 swer the purpose contemplated by-me. I amA --lkewislas/aware that attempts have been made, l l hnt'never with success,

tion in the cylinder by'superheated steam. 'therefore disclaim such modes. They are inef-l y to. prevent condensa cient, and will not supply heat with snticient`l rapidity nor in sutiicientquantity to reevapo Y rate the condensed steam' at -the proper time.l

One merit of my invention is, that it ob-A tains the maxirntim efficiency heretofore aimed.'

engines therewillonlylbe requiredfrorn one hall' to onequar'ter the inje'etion-wyaterineeded i than with the usual manner of fusing steepinin al, butnotrelized, euch superl'ieting Y. eontriv'anees. Another meritffof `my invention is, that it reduces tllepressureon tliebuok'of `the piston tofit's'uorlual 'quanity, forl only slightly more than is dueto the temperature; of theA condenser, and 'only' one-tliixdffrt'he pressure that?V no wftulresplaoe in 'steam-em",

gines.,-".Aml another merita. of my invention.

is, that for equal horsepower.Qgeveopedliu engines therefore, the 4stemL-engne ean 1ln= 'as efficiently worked With an air-pumpfaindf condenser of less proportional loapewitayand" with surface-eondenser's vof *proportionellyless surface.

Iy ,have 'discovered' that rta-evaporation 'ot .condensed steam Vin the [Cylinders of .steam- 'enginee-s the principal'` causeof their inef-A cien'o'yfto. realizetlie value ,of vthe expanding es herein de-` "WiL1iesses:.-

" WARREN RoWELLyV 'SAMLSQUIRL 

